-Heat oil and sauté minced garlic. After a minute add beef mince and break it into small pieces while cooking through. When it starts changing its colour, add marinara sauce. Cook for 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes.

-Now in a separate mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients given for ricotta filling and mix well.

-Now grease a pyrex rectangular lasagne baking dish, and lay a layer of lasagne sheets. Then some meat sauce, then lasagne sheets, then ricotta filling, then another layer of lasagne sheets, then some béchamel sauce, then again some ricotta filling, another layer of lasagne sheets and then the last layer of marinara sauce. Top it with some mozzarella cheese and cover it with aluminium foil. Bake in a preheated oven (180 degrees Celsius) for 30 minutes. Then take off the aluminium foil and broil for 10 minutes at 200 degree Celsius.

-To make the Napoli sauce: Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, then add thyme and tomatoes and bring to the simmer.

-Simmer very gently uncovered over medium-low heat stirring occasionally for 30 minutes or until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has thickened. Add a little water during the cooking process if the sauce thickens too much.

-Remove and discard the thyme stems and season to taste with salt and pepper and add other herbs, spices and vegetables.

-While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Now it’s time to make the meatballs. Combine the chicken, breadcrumbs, parsley, Dijon mustard and other ingredients in a large mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper.

-Using your hands, gently mix until just blended. Be careful not to over mix the meat as it will toughen it up.

-Form the mixture into 12 – 18 meatballs, dipping your hands in a bowl of cold water to stop the chicken from sticking.

-Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium heat.

-Cook the meatballs until golden brown all over, about 2 minutes.

-Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meatballs to the tomato sauce and simmer gently until the meatballs are cooked through, about 5 minutes.

-Meanwhile, add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook according to the packet directions until al denté, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

-With a slotted spoon take out the meatballs from the sauce.

-Drain the spaghetti and toss the pasta with some of the Napoli sauce, season to taste with salt and pepper, and divide the pasta between four serving bowls. Divide the meatballs and remaining tomato sauce evenly between the four bowls of pasta.

-Serving suggestion: Sprinkle the grated parmesan cheese on top and serve.

Simple Beef Lasagne is a lovely recipe, do try this if you are Italian food lover …

Ingredients:

BEEF SAUCE/BOLOGNA SAUCE:

2 cans of diced tomatoes

½ tspn oregano, thyme, rosemary and crushed black pepper

Some salt

1 tspn paprika

4 tbspns olive oil

2 tbspns chopped onions

4 tbspns chopped capsicum

1 tbspn chopped zucchini

250 gms beef mince

BECHAMEL SAUCE:

1 ½ cup whole milk

1 scoop of butter

1 tbspn plain flour

Some salt and pepper

FOR LASAGNE

10 lasagne sheets

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese

2 Tomato Slices

Procedure:

-Heat oil and add mincemeat. Stir fry for 15 minutes on low heat.

-Meanwhile in a sauce add diced tomatoes and all other ingredients and let it cook on low heat for 10 minutes or until its like a chunky tomato sauce.

-Add the sauce in fried mincemeat and mix. Remove from heat.

-Boil milk and Heat some butter in a saucepan. Add flour and mix well. Now add boiling hot milk with constant whisking. Stir until it become thick. Remove from heat.

-Boil lasagne sheets and drain access water.

-Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

-In a Pyrex baking tray scoop some béchamel sauce on its base and spread.

-Now spread a layer of boiled lasagne pasta and then some béchamel and mincemeat sauce. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese and then cover it with the other boiled pasta and repeat the process again until the ingredients are finished.

-At the end top it with some cheese and tomatoes and bake on 180 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes.

-Serve.

Outcome:

Tasty and easy beef lasagne is ready to serve.

Ayesha's Kitchen

Tips:

-Add boiling hot milk in butter and flour when making béchamel sauce.

-Boil lasagne sheets 2 at a time so that they don’t stick to each other.